Malaysia Airlines has cancelled 19 flights while AirAsia has cancelled 16.
The following Malaysia Airlines flights to Sabah have been affected:
- Kuala Lumpur to Tawau: MH7420
- Tawau to Kuala Lumpur: MH7421
- Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu: MH2612, MH2610, MH7404, MH2613
- Kota Kinabalu to Kuala Lumpur: MH2621, MH2611, MH7405
- Kuala Lumpur to Sandakan: MH2710
- Sandakan to Kuala Lumpur: MH2711
For Sarawak, affected flights include:
- Kuala Lumpur to Kuching: MH2520, MH2542
- Kuching to Kuala Lumpur: MH2513, MH2543
- Kuala Lumpur to Miri: MH2574
- Miri to Kuala Lumpur: MH2575
- Kuala Lumpur to Bintulu: MH2742, MH2574
- Bintulu to Kuala Lumpur: MH2473, MH2575
In a statement on Facebook, Malaysia Airlines said it was monitoring the situation and would provide updates as new information becomes available.
“Concurrently, the airline is working to accommodate passengers affected by the cancellation of flights on alternative flights once the situation progressively improves,” it said.
It also urged passengers to update their contact details through the MyBooking feature on its website to receive the latest updates through email and SMS.
Meanwhile, the following AirAsia flights have been affected:
- Kuala Lumpur to Tawau: AK5746, AK9746, AK5748, AK5744
- Tawau to Kuala Lumpur: AK5747, AK974, AK5749, AK5745
- Kota Kinabalu to Tawau: AK6260, AK6266, AK6268, AK6264
- Tawau to Kota Kinabalu: AK6261, AK6267, AK6269, AK6265
AirAsia, in a statement, advised guests travelling to or from the affected destinations to check their registered emails and mobile phones for cancellation notifications.
“AirAsia guests travelling to/from the affected destinations are strongly encouraged to check their latest flight status at airasia.com/flightstatus.
“AirAsia is continuing to monitor Mount Ruang volcanic activity and will provide more information on the latest developments,” it said.
Batik Air also announced the cancellation of 12 flights scheduled to operate to and from KLIA and Sabah and Sarawak today.
“We understand the inconvenience this may cause and assure you that the safety of our passengers and crew remains our top priority.
“In the meantime, we are actively working to assist affected passengers by arranging alternative flights,” it said in a statement.
On Wednesday, multiple eruptions of Mount Ruang in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi province prompted the evacuation of at least 800 people.
The volcano has been active for several days, spewing lava and ash clouds.
Authorities have raised the alert level to the second highest, Heruningtyas Desi Purnamasari, an official at Indonesia’s Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, told Reuters.